Thursday, March 27, 2014

Majority of Students at One Brooklyn School to Sit Out State Standardized Tests

For the second year, students across the state are about to take standardized tests based on much more difficult learning standards known as the Common Core, and along with number 2 pencils, the tests this year have brought political battles, student protests and even supportive pep rallies.

What happened to the Florida boycott over the Stand Your Ground law and the murder of Travon Martin??????????????

NAACP

Rufus—

Leaders are not born, they are developed.

That's why each year at the NAACP Leadership 500 Summit, we gather generations of established and aspiring leaders to network, collaborate, and advance positive change for our families, communities, and society.

This Memorial Day weekend in Naples, Florida, we celebrate 10 years of building power together. I want your voice to be present as we gather to mark this incredible milestone and build an ever-stronger future.

At the Leadership 500 Summit, you can feel the energy of hundreds of professionals who, like you, care about creating change and advancing the next generation of black leadership.

Whether you want to lead in the boardroom or the classroom, the Leadership 500 Summit is your opportunity to sharpen your skills, make new connections, and become inspired.

For two and a half days, you'll participate in thought-provoking, interactive discussions led by prominent private sector, nonprofit, corporate, faith, and community leaders—all dedicated to helping you become the leader you want to be.

Learn more and register for the 10th Annual NAACP Leadership 500 Summit today:

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Central Park is full of fascinating stories. Join us at one of these upcoming events, designed with you in mind. Discover something new about the Park you love! >From how women and children helped shape the Park to the significance of water in its design, the Central Park Conservancy has a treasure trove of Park stories we can’t wait to share with you.

Women in Central Park Illustrated TalkThe Conservancy's official historian, Sara Cedar Miller, will discuss how women have played pivotal roles in the vision for Park usage, contributed sculpture and horticultural designs, and spearheaded its restoration and continued care. Reception, including light refreshments and book signing, will follow the talk. Free. Registration not required.

Women, Children, and Play in Central Park TalkJoin Marie Warsh, Central Park Conservancy's Director of Preservation Planning, for a talk on how Central Park was specifically designed to accommodate the needs of children and women, and reflected contemporary ideas about the roles of women in 19th century public spaces. Light refreshments will follow the talk.Free. Registration not required.

Seneca Village TourEstablished on land that would become part of Central Park, Seneca Village was Manhattan's first known community of African-American property owners. Learn about the history of the village and the people who lived there. Route involves moderate inclines and a few stairs. 75 minutes. Registration suggested. Tickets $15 (Members $10).

Iconic Views of Central Park Tour Learn about the Park's history and how its designers created some of its most iconic places, like the Lake and Bethesda Terrace. Route involves a few stairs. 75 minutes. Registration suggested.Tickets $15 (Members $10).

Belvedere's Kingdom: Cleopatra's Needle TourTake a walk around the landscapes dominated by historic Belvedere Castle. On these special dates, the tour will highlight the Obelisk, commonly known as Cleopatra's Needle, and the Conservancy's upcoming work to restore it. 75 minutes. Registration suggested.Tickets $15 (Members $10).

Ponds, Pipes, and People: Water in Central Park ExhibitLearn about the significance of water in the design and creation of Central Park, explore the biodiversity in the Park’s skillfully-managed habitats, and discover the underground system that sustains it all. Free. Registration only required for groups.

By JAMES FREEMAN

BUYING INSURANCE ON THE WAY TO THE HOSPITAL The Washington Post reports that the "Obama administration has decided to give extra time to Americans who say that they are unable to enroll in health plans through the federal insurance marketplace by the March 31 deadline." The Post says that "people will be able to qualify for an extension by checking a blue box on HealthCare.gov to indicate that they tried to enroll before the deadline. This method will rely on an honor system; the government will not try to determine whether the person is telling the truth." Also, "an exact time frame for this extension has not been set...Nor have officials decided precisely how long people will have to select a health plan after they get the extra time." But even after this latest ObamaCare improvisation expires, many patients will still be able to buy coverage under existing rules that allow for later sign-ups. "Those include people who have a new baby, are getting a divorce, lose a job with health insurance or had a technical problem signing up for coverage through HealthCare.gov," adds the Post. And of course "people will still be trusted to tell the truth about why they need more time â€” a method known as 'self-attestation.'" This week's hurried rewrite of ObamaCare rules will help the administration try to meet its lowered expectation of 6 million customers. But it also shines a light on one of the reasons the new policies will be so costly: Patients are able to buy coverage after learning they will need medical care. An insurance pool of only self-selected sick patients is not really insurance at all, but simply a mechanism for paying the costs of care. And those costs are certain to rise.

Nationwide (BlackNews.com) -- First, the good news: Bishop Paul Morton has declared he is no longer going to be a mindless puppet of the Democrat Party! After over 20 million African-Americans killed by abortion; the demand of President Barack Obama for Gospel Preachers to stop being bigoted and perform homosexual marriages; after the punking of the President and Democrat elected officials by the Teachers Union (not Putin) to destroy the Washington, DC School Voucher program (which all data concluded was working for poor African-American children in the poverty stricken city); after the Democrat Party removed all references of God from their platform and refused to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; after the partisan passing of legislation known as Obamacare that strips the church of its religious freedoms, the Bishop has finally put his foot down!

Now, the bad news: Bishop Paul Morton is a little confused and doesnt remember what dispensation he is in. During the time of Noah, it is written, fallen Angels  Demonic beings  had sexual relations with women on the earth and produced giants  hybrid, unredeemable, monstrous beings. Because of these individuals, God destroyed the earth through the flood and started again with those who accompanied Noah in the Ark, eight individuals in all.

The scripture from that point suggests fallen angels and humans producing Demonic progeny had ended. The point is: only a Demon or Devil can produce a Demon Seed or an actual child of the Devil. Bishop Paul Morton is under the impression that common everyday male human beings, through deliberate acts of lust and/or sexual violence, can create a demonic being that would thence be unredeemable. Biology would teach us that only a demon can produce a Demon Seed. Human beings can only produce human beings. Genesis declares everything produces seed after its own kind. Though often susceptible to demonic influence, humans through natural intercourse either by consent, or rape, cannot in point of fact, produce a demonic being. Yes, I know that some of you school teachers out there are shaking your heads, but this is unquestionably true!

Far more critical than the Bishops derision, is his present position as a Senior Pastor and Bishop, which readily enables him to not only confuse far more individuals than himself, but also demean unstable, broken souls looking for solace. The Bishop is apparently unaware that many persons  the progeny of victims of rape and incest  are sitting quietly in our pews. Imagine those seeking refuge and peace-of-mind in the church, those who would come into our sanctuaries seeking sanctuary, and then hear a sermon preached from the pulpit telling them in no uncertain terms, they are the progeny of Lucifer. No doubt they have repeatedly wondered about whether or not they should have ever been born. Its very easy for them to feel like misfits and rejects by society. These very same persons have often been given up by their Mothers and raised by a caring parent, or parents, who were willing to adopt and provide a home. Yet even loving parents cannot always defeat the tormenting spirits which attack the minds of children conceived in rape and incest. Certainly, if there is a place where they should find solace, comfort, and understanding, it should be the church.

Demon Seed...? When you discuss Louis Armstrong, the world renowned jazz trumpeter who was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame, and regarded by many as the most famous Jazz musician in the world, do you ever think of him as a demon seed? Yet he was the product of rape and incest. Lets consider the Abolitionist, Preacher, autobiographer, bank president, and US Marshal by the name of Fredrick Douglass. Can we name another African-American who has made a greater contribution to this country in his time? Demon Seed...? Satan had nothing to do with Fredrick Douglass success, and he, too, was the product of rape. How about Michelangelo? How many times has his painting of The creation of Adam been duplicated for the world to see, and his historic contribution to the world by painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? Michelangelo was the product of rape and incest. Or James Robinson, the famed TV Evangelist. He and his wife have dedicated their lives to serve humanity, and themselves, to the feeding of millions living in Africa. James Robinson was the result of a forcible rape of his mother. And then there was my dads favorite, Eartha Kitt, who was a world renowned star of stage, screen, and television. Mom may say she was devilish but certainly not a Demon Seed... Eartha Kitt was conceived in rape.

I could on and on but as we Baptist Preachers would say: I will close with Ethel Waters. When you read of the accolades poured upon Ethel Waters by the worlds most famous Evangelist, Billy Graham... her angelic voice... her walk of grace and dignity... Demon Seed is not ever ascribed to her, though her mother at age 13, was raped, and later gave birth to this world renowned vocalist and Gospel singer. We all must come to the conclusion, despite the means by which they were conceived, it is clear to all their significant contribution to society, along with the divine hand of God in their lives. As Ethel Waters might say, His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me...

Bishop Paul Morton also has done far too much to further the Gospel, to be a mentor, and positive example to the church, as well as its clergy, to have it negated by an ill-conceived statement, so I would ask he rethink his words, recanting his statement, lest he ill advisedly demonize a segment of our society needing our understanding and loving affirmation. And in that vein...

...Last, but certainly not the least, I could not forget Rainbow Coalitions president and Civil Rights Activist, Jessie Jackson. Rev. Jessie Jackson was even scheduled for an abortion, yet his mother chose to cancel that appointment with death and raise him despite the odds against her and Jessie. Its a shame this onetime Jedi Knight is now an advocate for the dark side. What ever happen to, do unto others as your mother did unto you...

Rev. Dr. Clenard H. Childress, Jr. is the founder of www.BlackGenocide.org - a website designed to reach the Afro-American community with the truth about abortion.

-END-

This information has been distributed through BlackPR.com and BlackNews.com, properties owned by Dante Lee International, but the content or opinions expressed within are those of the author and/or represented company or organization.

March 31: Last Day to Enroll in Health Insurance through the Marketplace

If you don't have health insurance, or would like to change your coverage, you still have time to apply. March 31 is the last day you can enroll in 2014 coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

* Before Kathryn Garcia was appointed New York City sanitation commissioner this weekend, she served as chief operating officer at the city’s Department of Environmental Protection—a role she held when she participated in a City & State energy conference last fall. At the event, she touted a variety of innovative conservation and efficiency initiatives at DEP (at the 20:53 mark), including some that directly tie to her new role at the Department of Sanitation. “We are hoping that the Public Service Commission approves our sale of digestor gas to National Grid,” she said. “We are taking food waste to see if we can produce more digestor gas, which is basically methane.” She also mentioned open landfill spaces that could be used for solar power (48:50). “That continues to be a focus of the organization: How can we look at the landfills that have been recently capped and think of them as a resource rather than as a drain?”

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Rise In Traffic Tickets Suggests NYPD Is Cracking Down On Reckless Drivers

One of the main focuses of Mayor Bill de Blasio's first landmark agenda, Vision Zero, is cracking down on reckless drivers. As the plan states, NYPD traffic officers are told to “[increase] enforcement against dangerous moving violations, including speeding, failing to yield to pedestrians, signal violations, improper turns/disobeying signage, and phoning/texting while driving.” And evidently, this is just what NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is doing. [ more › ]

Monday, March 17, 2014

Hard to stomach

Too many New Yorkers, too many good hard-working people, too many children, too many elderly parents, lack the resources to put food on the table. Too many cannot afford basic nutrition — bread, milk, a piece of fruit, a portion of vegetables, a slice of meat.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Notification issued 3/16/14 at 1:35 PM. The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City is accepting contributions to assist the individuals, families, and businesses affected by the building collapse that occurred at 116th Street and Park Avenue in Manhattan on Wednesday, 3/12. Those wishing to contribute or gain additional information about the Mayorâs Fund may visit http://www.NYC.gov/fund or call 311.